About Me

With 33 years as a professional sportswriter for the Journal News (Westchester, N.Y.) and 20 years covering the Giants, Ernie Palladino brings a wealth of knowledge to this blog. His contacts inside and outside the organization will make this blog the fastest, most objective news source for Giants fans of all ages.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Early News

A little early news before we head out to practice on a snowy New Year's Eve day. The Giants placed CB Aaron Ross (hamstring) and RB Brandon Jacobs (knee) on injured reserve and replaced them with QB Rhett Bomar and S Sha'reff Rashad from the practice squad.

Now, don't get excited. We're probably not going to see either of the two replacements Sunday. Teams tend to elevate people from the practice squad at this point to secure their contract rights for next season. Otherwise, they would become free agents once the season ends.

The official end for Ross and Jacobs comes as no surprise. It was unlikely Ross would play again after he re-injured the left hamstring two weeks ago. That was the same hamstring that kept him inactive the first nine games of the season.

Jacobs' right knee injury, thought to be a torn meniscus, will undergo arthroscopic surgery next week. He was declared out of Sunday's game yesterday.

To replace Bomar and Rashad, the Giants signed OL Rueben Riley and WR Bruce Francis to the practice squad.

Ernie - What's your opinion on Ross' future? A guy that has chronic and severe hamstring issues really isn't of much value to the team. Yes, he is talented, but does that help NY if he is out more than he is in? How does a team with doctors and trainers have so many hamstring issues? Ross should have a trainer stretching him out for an hour before every game. There shouldn't be so many hamstring injuries and they should not be so severe on a professional team. Or, is it possible, that there is something else wrong with Ross and the Giants are using the hamstring as an excuse? The reality is every team in the NFL lies on their injury reports, so it would not be shocking to find out that Ross has a more severe problem.